Please tell me that Pi is not closing.
I heard that Pi is closing on November 15.
Say it ain’t so!
Okay, so I’ll be the first to confess that I don’t actually go to Pi all that often. It’s not because I don’t like Pi. It’s because I’m old and I live out in the suburbs and I just don’t stay out like I used to.
But I absolutely believe in the space, community, and services they provide to the lesbians of the Twin Cities. That was a big gaping hole that was left after the Metro closed (the Town House notwithstanding).
Lawdy, tell me it’s just a rumor.
UPDATE: Andy is saying it’s true.
UPDATE #2: vita.mn has some deets.
Co-owner Tara Yule said she couldn’t get the refinancing needed to keep the south Minneapolis bar afloat. Pi opened in February 2007 as the gay bar scene’s only place dedicated to women. But it became much more than a lesbian bar, Yule said. “We made an effort to come out as more of a queer bar, one that was inclusive to the entire community,” she said. It also was a haven for live music, allying itself with the punk rock and hip-hop scenes. The bar raised thousands of dollars through community fundraisers (including its popular dildo bingo night). Yule and her staff have big party plans for the final weekend, starting with the last dildo bingo Nov. 13. On Nov. 15, they will auction off the bar’s elaborate murals, giving bargoers a chance to buy a piece of Pi. “I’m very sad,” Yule said. “But I’m very proud of this place. We did a lot of good community work and it was kind of magical.”
Has it really only been a year and a half? Seems longer. And who’s gonna fill that hole? What did they do wrong? Too ambitious? Is food and drinks and programming and trying to be everything to every niche of the community too much? Or is it just hard economic times? Regardless, it’s disappointing.
UPDATE #3: This message from Pi owner Tara Yule went out on November 4.
In April of 2006, my friend Benny and I were stocking shelves at a co-op and decided to open a bar. We believed that a large portion of our community was not being served by existing establishments. We single-mindedly set out to create a unique environment, that had, as its mission, a heart of inclusivity, a respect and admiration for self-expression, and a community spirit. With the help of some big-hearted contractors, an intricate mosaic of creative financing, an unwavering vision, and innumerable like-minded friends, Pi opened its doors to the public on February 9th, 2007. For the last two years Pi has evolved into a space and an experience that I will always be proud to have been a part of. We have become a community space for numerous and diverse community organizations to have events and fundraisers. We have become a space and a sanctuary for all forms of self expression and identity to feel comfortable, proud, sexy, and safe. We have become a place where one can truly experience diversity and perhaps work through some unknown discomfort surrounding it. Some people have found a home here and have found a level of comfort and acceptance that has allowed them to not tolerate compromise elsewhere in their lives. Pi has raised, itself, almost $40,000 for small, local charities through its own monthly Dildo Bingo and has helped other organizations and individuals raise over $100,000 within its walls. We have, since the beginning, been dedicated to local art and music. Perhaps most rewarding for me personally has been the family that Pi has created, mostly in the staff, but also including the extended Pi family of friends and regulars. I would like to express my eternal gratitude to the people who have worked here, dedicating themselves to an ideal of chosen family, tribe, and love. Pi’s staff is the most amazing, eclectic, dynamic, talented, passionate, and hot group of people I have ever had the privilege to know. They all went to war for me and it has been an honor to have achieved this with them. Due to colliding circumstances, Pi was unable to secure financing for this building, and will be forced to vacate by November 29th. Our last day of business will be Saturday, November 15th. Please join us, in these last weeks, celebrate all that Pi has been and has become. Come together as the true community that I know is possible. Queers, freaks, rebels, outlaws, artists, hipsters, gangsters, and geeks. Thank you for this unforgettable opportunity. Piluv now and forever, Tara Yule, unlikely and grateful owner of Pi Bar
It is sadly true. Pi will close on Nov. 15. That place was special because it was QUEER — meaning they worked to actively provide a welcoming place to all who live outside the mainstream. When I approached them a year ago to create Soul Friday, a night geared toward women of color, they embraced it and helped make it happen by hiring the right DJs, letting us have a guest chef who cooked up some mean soul food, and welcoming those who came only for that event.
Here’s the deal. Go to Pi as much as you can between now and Nov. 15. To show them support. To show them “Pi love.” And to make sure they can cover their last payrolls, etc. It’s the least we can do.